Pros
Folks here are very understanding about flexibility. I have children, so that's a necessity. Also, I genuinely like and feel inspired by some of my co-workers. Like any university, it's a mecca for smart, thoughtful people. Some facilities are new and beautiful.
Cons
Salaries for staff are abysmal. But, I could swallow that if the institutional culture was healthy, and it's just not. Everywhere you turn, you run into people who won't communicate, which makes it extraordinarily difficult to do your job well. I think there is just a lot of fear here. People don't get positive feedback and make so little money that they hold on to the only thing they have - control of information. I feel like I spend every day hitting my head against a wall. Also, Mason has a very poor relationship with the Commonwealth of Virginia - but since it's a state school, the Commonwealth makes the rules. So the work here is a constant effort to walk the line between what Mason wants and what the Commonwealth requires. It's not very rewarding. This is all from the staff viewpoint. I'm sure faculty has a different experience. There seems to be developmental support for people who want to grow from senior leadership roles to even-more-senior leadership roles, but nothing at all for people who want to grow from mid-level roles.
